Philip’s tapping away one-fingered at his phone, his lips pursed in concentration. He glances at her as she sits down. ‘I’m messaging Rick, we need to call a meeting of the community watch – see if any of the patrols saw anything last night.’
‘Good idea,’ says Lizzie. The community watch is Philip’s new obsession – his way of doing something good for the neighbourhood. Lizzie knows how important it is to him. He’s always needed a purpose or to be leading a crusade of some sort, and since handing over the captaincy of the Tall Grass Golf Club earlier in the year she knows he’s been feeling rather adrift. Ideally she’d prefer his crusades to be non-law-enforcement related, but as crime goes she reasons that burglaries are towards the less violent end. She looks across at Moira. ‘Philip said something about a crime. Were you burgled?’
Moira shakes her head. ‘There was a dead body in the lap pool this morning.’
Lizzie inhales hard. Feels her chest tighten. There’s never been a murder on The Homestead. Until about a month ago there’d never really been any kind of crime. It’s one of the reasons they’ve chosen to live here; they’ve both seen enough in their careers to last several lifetimes. They chose The Homestead to forget about all that. Lizzie frowns. Tries not to show Moira that the news has unsettled her. ‘Really? That’s . . . unexpected.’
Moira takes another nibble of shortbread. ‘I thought so too.’
Lizzie glances at her husband but he’s still typing, all his attention on his phone screen. It’s just as well because the crumbs are spreading out from the half-eaten shortbread in front of Moira. Lizzie tries not to look at them. ‘Philip said you were in an ambulance. Did you get hurt?’
‘No, nothing like that, the paramedics were making a fuss about things, saying I should go to the hospital, but there was no need.’
Lizzie says nothing for a moment. She’s seen the way Moira’s nostrils flared when she asked if she was hurt, and the way she broke eye contact when she mentioned the paramedics. Lizzie’s pretty sure Moira’s hiding something. Leaning across the counter, she lowers her voice. ‘You sure you’re okay?’
‘I’m fine, really. I just started feeling really light-headed. I get low blood sugar sometimes.’ Moira pauses, and takes another bite of shortbread. ‘This is helping though, thank you.’
Lizzie doesn’t say anything. She’s not convinced.
Moira gives her a forced-looking smile. ‘Look, you don’t need to worry about me. I don’t scare easily.’
Lizzie wonders what Moira used to do for a job. If she’s not shocked by a dead body maybe she was a nurse or paramedic, or a doctor; something where death was part of the job. As a CSI Lizzie saw the aftermath of every kind of crime. To see that stuff every day, and stick at the job until retirement, takes a certain type of person. ‘Yes, of course. Still, it must have been a shock? Crime scenes are pretty grim.’
‘True. It was strange leaving, though. I felt like I should stay and help out or something, because I found her.’
Lizzie nods like she understands, but really she doesn’t. She likes retirement. This is her time to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures. She’s had enough of dead bodies and bodily fluids to last a lifetime, and Philip really can’t be around that kind of thing any more. That’s why she likes The Homestead – it’s like a permanent holiday; a place where only good things happen. She doesn’t want to be reminded of all the dreadful things people do to one another. She thinks she’s earned that.
‘So tell us what you saw, Moira,’ says Philip, putting his phone on to the counter and picking up his coffee. ‘How did you find the body? Was there any sign of the killer? Did you notice anything out of place in the park?’
Lizzie keeps her gaze on her husband. She’s seen that animated expression before, so many times, and every time he’s worked a big case. Cases like that always consumed him. He’d work non-stop, obsessed like a bloodhound on a scent, and he loved it. Lived for it. Right up until the moment when a heart attack and sky-rocketing blood pressure forced him to give it all up.